Hudson Cab Pickups were indeed rare, in that only 3,104 were sold in 1946; and 1947 would be their final year. The Hudson Super Six pickup is a great example of the car-like pickups that had yet to gain a foothold in the market long before the success of the El Camino and Ranchero. During the 48-year history of the Hudson make, about 30,000 trucks and commercial vehicles were produced.

The good news, from a restoration standpoint, is that because this Hudson truck was essentially a Commodore sedan attached to a pickup bed, mechanical and body parts are easy to find. The unique custom-made nature of some aspects of its body, however, makes those areas a little more difficult to restore.

Though current sales data is hard to come by for this truck, they are worth anywhere from $13,000 to $40,000, which places the 2001 seller’s asking price—about $25,500 in today’s dollars—on target for the $21,000 sale price of the typical example.

Even though Checker hasn’t built a taxi in nearly 30 years, people still associate the brand with taxis, and vice versa. Which is why I’m glad that Ray Scroggins, in his article for SIA #54, December 1979, discussed not just Checker taxis, but also Rambler, Studebaker, De Soto, Ford, Plymouth and Chevrolet taxis, while at the same time providing parallel discussions on the English line of taxis. (BTW, check out the interesting note on NYC laws requiring a divider in the trunk – to prevent carrying around dead bodies!?!)

Two articles appeared in SIA #50, April 1979, that dealt with the histories of unusual, essentially one-off body styles. First, W.E. Gosden chronicled Ben Ellerbeck’s “shiftable top,” or what we would today call the convertible hardtop, installed on a 1919 Hudson Super Six. Next, Keith Marvin delved into the story of the Cavalier, a car that was supposed to have been a sort of semi-kit, on which the customer could order four body styles. Of course, neither proved successful – one because it was ahead of its time, the other because, well, it sounded kind of dopey.